Inclusive Education: An Enigma of ‘Wicked’ Proportions

Inclusive education: a seemingly simple term that belies the issues and controversies that have ensued over the decades since its entrance into educational vernacular in the last decades of the 20th century. This came almost 25 years ago when the Salamanca Statement lay at the feet of nations globally – a Framework for Action to promote the notion that all students should access an inclusive education within their local schools, regardless of ability (UNESCO, 1994). Ainscow and César (2006) declared this as being ‘the most significant document that has ever appeared in the field of special education’ (p. 231), given it received approval from the more than 90 nations who were part of its inception. Since the release of this statement, the construct of inclusive education has broadened to being about the education of all students, no matter sexual orientation, social status, ethnicity, religion or perceived ability/disability (Boyle & Sharma, 2015). Despite the hard work and attempted reform by advocates of inclusive education, in 25 years the construct has not been successfully or consistently implemented as the way of educating all children and young people across the globe (Boyle & Anderson, 2019). Regardless of this, advocacy for inclusive education remains strong in some quarters (Boyle & Anderson, 2019). Reasons for this are varied, but many pertain in some way to the notion that education provides so much more than just academic achievement ( Armstrong, 2018). It is also widely accepted that the process of education contributes to the psychological, social/emotional, and behavioural development of the children and young people in its provision (Armstrong, Elliot, Hallett, & Hallett, 2015; Oldfield, Humphrey, & Hebron, 2015). This is even more important for students who are considered to sit on the margins of the community, as it is this democratic access to schooling that provides these students with what it is they need to be successful within their local and wider communities; an important discussion to be having at a time when school populations globally are becoming increasingly diverse (Schwab, Sharma, & Loreman, 2018).